I fear that I am not smart enough to leave a review for this, but it is done, so...

This novel dives into depression and how you make people and entire places because you just can't bear it. The loss. The decay. Oh, the insults thrown Colin's way are severe, yes... but some of it seems to be right. Kurt isn't a bad guy, even if what he says is brutal. Because Colin really is to blame for at least some of this; his tendency to choose isolation persists until the very end. When all you get is mud in your face, it can be hard to look at anything... except, there was someone there. Someone who still believed...

And, even though Colin drowns and fucking dies... lol... ultimately, he still had hope. Even if it seemed like there were no other options, it's still a hope in the heart. Because what else is there to do? If I want to help myself I'm gonna do this... wait...

I think others have better analyses for this novel, but I really enjoyed reading. Presentation was great, too, and I've no doubt about that.

This one confuses me. Not in terms of like, plot or theme because I think I'm picking up what you're putting down (or maybe I missed it and I'm gonna get the ol' Big Dumb Dipshit hammer later), but more in how I'm reacting to it. I categorically don't give my scores in reviews because I feel like those aren't all that helpful as feedback and they may detract from anything else I have to say, but I feel like I have to here to kinda make my point. Between this year's and last year's jams, this is the second entry I've ever given a perfect score, but at the same time, it was like I didn't feel that strongly about it when it ended. It's objectively good, I just can't help but feel like it's missing something to push it into transcendent.

I dunno. I'll try to talk it through the best I can.

Implementation of Theme:

I guess I spoiled above how I'm reading this, since perfect score and all, but I think we're sufficiently covered here. I feel like I had to have had "Bermuda Triangle" spoiled for me at some point (maybe someone mentioned it on Discord?) but I immediately made a note about it as soon as the script mentioned going off course northeast of Cuba (though you'd still have to be waaaaaaaaay  northeast of Cuba to be talking about heading west towards Florida and not like, The Bahamas). I'm not really giving myself credit for the spot, but I think the Bermuda Triangle is an interesting and novel choice for folklore and it thematically jives really well about everything about Colin's life disappearing as he spirals further into depression and insecurity. 

Worth noting here I guess too that the whole "vampire" thing could also count towards folklore? Like, I get that Colin is not literally a vampire, but the use of vampire folklore as a metaphor for Colin losing a piece of himself isn't nothing. Maybe I'm stretching here, I don't know. Box checked for me anyway.

Presentation: 

The art here is very good. Everyone else has already said it's very good, and you know it's very good, so I don't know how much more I need to say about it. The script was well proofread with just a few minor errors throughout, but nothing too distracting (Colin seems to forget how many Ls are in his name sometimes). 

The soundscape was generally good as well, though if I was to gripe about anything here I wish we got a bit more explicit audiovisual tension as spooky stuff begins happening on the boat. We get really tense music in the final scene, but I wish there had been more of this earlier too so the presentation feels like it's building to a crescendo along with the text. Like, the script does such a good job of conveying Colin's fear as the navigation system and compass disappear, I just wish audiovisuals made full use of the medium to accompany that text. 

Story/Writing:

There's a kind of weird thematic parallel between this and Nat One where both are dealing with insecurity and depression, and the way every successive event just seems to beat you further and further down, but they couldn't be more different tonally. To oversimplify it, this is kind of like Nat One if there was nobody to catch you when you fell. 

Like my review for Clam Story (and apparently I'm just all about references to other entries tonight) I don't particularly care whether Colin's actually on the boat or if it's all-in-le-head or what, the thematic progression is the most important thing here and I think that comes through. The boat is reflective (irony!) of Colin's interpersonal relationships; one thing disappears, and it isn't really noticeable. But then things keep disappearing, and every time Colin tries to course correct, to find something else to lean on, that disappears too. 

Regarding Colin's friends, clearly they have some truly brutal lines in the VN ("Don't guilt people into giving you the pity you think you deserve" - fuckin' yikes), though I wonder how much of this is verbatim and how much of this is just Colin's perception of those people once he feels like he can't do anything right. This especially plays into my reading of Kurt - I agree with Pink's assessment that Kurt really isn't an antagonistic character, at least not in the same way or to the same level that Hunter is presented. Even though Kurt says some pretty hurtful things to Colin before his disappearance, he was there, and he did go with Colin even though he thought Colin was chasing a pipe dream. When you feel like you've done everything you can for a friend and they're still withdrawing or pushing you away, it can be easy to fall into that mindset, and come to the conclusion that maybe you are better off apart. But I think there's also a chance that if Kurt hadn't disappeared in that moment, and he'd had another opportunity, he still would have been there for Colin, even if Colin assumed he was gone forever. 

I'm kind of torn on how I feel about this, because the VN's relatively short length does help keep it concise and effective (and also limits the number of unique art assets required for this visual style) but I wonder if a bit more establishment of the "normal" before Colin's depression started spiraling could have been effective too. It feels harder to capture the fall when we're already starting close to Colin's lowest point, and I think maybe introducing the reader to good parts of Colin's life, then taking those away would have made the dread more impactful. You kind of already do this to an extent with Kurt, but the situation with Kurt is also clearly already tense at the beginning of the story.

Creativity: 

Yeah, I'm not sure what else to say here. The premise is great and the execution was really solid. There are parallels to some other entries, but this was incredibly distinct in terms of both visuals and prose. It's a very well done piece, and hopefully there was at least something of value to take away from that ramble. 

Final score of 12 mojitos out of 10 Cuba libres from me. 

(Spoilers of the entire game ahead, and a big These Are My Readings Of A Complex Story, I Do Not Have All The Answers, Actually I'm A Bit Dumb Sometimes-warning)

It's funny, the initial lines of vehement rejection of the protagonist (I know the origin of them but I want to analyse the actual story because things outside it is none of my business) made me think of people who are referred to as "energy vampires"; difficult to be around, leaving one exhausted often due to an onslaught of a lot of negativity. And then the protagonist is referred to as a vampire, and the things associated with the term become very evident, so I'm assuming the connotation is either intentional or at least relevant.

I'd say we see a person here who is at the endpoint of the 'energy vampire' (using the term facetiously, it's an awful way of seeing someone); rejected by everyone due to his issues, which exacerbates those issues in turn. We also see Colin's self awareness of this in the scene with Hunter, where he chooses to not say anything as that's likely to upset someone and he wants to get better. Of course, he's punished for not speaking instead, as it's to a point where whatever he does is seen negatively. He is denied improvement because of his past. My reading of this story isn't a focus on depression or suicide, although they're present, but of alienation.

Reflection and light are the motifs, and my reading of these pertains to Colin not able to understand himself anymore. His mental illness (I'll get to that) and the people around him have made it impossible for him to recognise who he is anymore, filed off anything identifiable like desires, interests, and hope. When Colin is about to give the lighter to Kurt to lose (metaphor for Kurt mishandling Colin's desire to trust him? Maybe!), he lights a lantern. Its light reflect on the surface of the ocean, which break out into nothing. Whatever light can be created is unable to last, because he doesn't know how to reflect those lights within himself. 

As a jam game, the theming is perfectly implemented. If I chanced upon this outside the jam context, I wouldn't be able to tell - there's no "FOLKLORE GIVE ME 5 STARS IN IT PLS". Instead, the setting of the Bermuda triangle is woven into the characterisation of Colin. He is, in my reading, the Bermuda triangle. Sure, he feels like he is disappearing, but the things and people around him also do so. In his perception, his negativity is destructive, metaphorically dragging them down into the depths with him. An interesting part of this is losing his auto navigation system. I think that was supposed to be that he doesn't know how to live life in the way others do, as it seems like they are able to Just Do It™.

Okay, Colin's mental illness. It's kept vague, and the easiest thing would be explaining it with a catch-all depression as to not armchair psychologist diagnose. But I'll base it on personal experience instead. What I see in the story has a lot in common with personality disorders, with the lack of ability to get close to others/negative thinking patterns/distorted reality. I've been in Colin's situation feeling like I'm dragging others down and helpless to do anything about it (hell, I've been told similar things like the initial quotes!), and I've been in Kurt's situation feeling like I can't help someone who is making my own health degrade and left to decide whether to cut myself off or risk getting pulled down into that misery again. I'm empathetic to both, really, and neither the Colins or the Kurts have any clear answers before them. 

Anyway, despite Colin's story not ending happily, this might be the most hopeful Carrioff VN to date. He dies, sure, but it's not willingly - if light is symbolic of emotion or hope, he is pushed past the brink of his limits by them. It's the conclusion of being pushed out alone to sea from alienation without anything to help you correct course for something else. But I don't see a loss of wanting to live here, just someone too overwhelmed to find a way to do so.

Okay I think that's enough analysis or I'll start going down on the sentence level like "He lets out a bright shield of smoke" being such a specific choice of words it could symbolise Kurt putting up a barrier against Colin, and shortly mention things about the presentation. Well, 1, it's stupid good. I'm still partial to Losing Ground's (rip I'll never recover😭) decay, but the use of the harsh line boiling to give constant motion to the watercolour sea, and making it stagnate with stillness by the end, mixes aesthetics and storytelling wonderfully. And despite myself being a musician and priding myself on sound design, I don't even have vocabulary to talk about what's being done here. It's empty and noise at the same time, having the vibe of being lost at sea SOMEHOW. I did also notice a noise at some point, perhaps of the engine, matching up with the beat of the animation. Just... yeah, perfectly made audiovisually, matched by writing I often re-read twice to understand what was being communicated. 

Suffice it to say, I loved everything about Everyone Is Asleep and if I got to pick a winner of the jam this would sweep. I'm happy for anyone who played this and didn't have any thoughts besides "I guess that was about depression? Cool art!", but I'll hope that maybe it can help someone understand themself better.

That was pretty intense in a way, seeing Colin disappear. The writing was really good at selling the expedition going worse and worse, Colin spiralling out and Kurt becoming more and more of an asshole. In the end, I was a bit disappointed that the whole thing was not really happening. It was more of a metaphor for Colin falling into depression, losing his will to live and going through with suicide after losing the support of his friends. It’s powerful stuff, but I guess I don’t do so well with big metaphors like that…^^

The presentation is incredible. The illustrations are moody (and slightly animated!), the music is oppressive; it really grounds you in the experience. A few moments lack an illustration (due to time constraints, certainly) but only the scene with Hunter really makes me miss it.

As for the folklore, Colin has become some sort of vampire, or something. It’s used as a metaphor for feeling like a monster because of something outside of our control, I think. The story isn’t much about folklore but it uses it alright. I’ve heard people talk about the Bermuda Triangle, but I never would have made the connection (despite now remembering you talk about it during May.^^)

Overall, it’s a great VN but not quite my type. Great job!

/ / Spoilers

What a ride.

This is one of the most immersive visual novels I have ever played, and such a good introspection on how your mental health can affect others, directly or indirectly. I feel like I was on the boat as well. For a short read, the characters are well developed, well written and impossible to hate.

Collin is such a good representation of depression, and Kurt is such a good example of the consequence of not seeking help. He *wants* to be there, but you're not giving him any reason to stay. Such is life. No matter who you are, people will want to be with you, but it's up to you wether they stay or not, and it's up to you wether you'll be a good friend or not. You will, eventually, start to both slowly lose yourself and everything around you. A void.

Even through the calming waves of the ocean, panic can still happen. You are isolated, even in company.

Frankly I don't even care that it doesn't fit the theme of folklore, it's just a 10/10.
I'm looking forward to anything else you will release, and if the visual novel is the representation of your mental health as an author, I don't hope, I KNOW everything will get better.